Biome Project

Introduction

A travel agency is trying to boost travel to different parts of the world by increasing the advertising and selling vacation packages. You have been hired to make a presentation to sell a travel package

Task

Working as a group, develop
a short presentation to the class to sell your vacation package. Presentations can be in the form of a digital powerpoint, a poster, a flyer, or a website. After all presentations
are finished, the class will vote on the most appealing vacation. Winners will receive a bonus!

Process

Each team will be assigned
a biome by the teacher. It is the team's job to research the biome and gather
facts and information about that biome. Each member of the team will become
an expert in a particular aspect of the biome

Team Roles

Botanist - this person will be an expert in the plant life of the area

Zoologist - this person will be an expert in the animal life of the area

Meteorologist - the weather expert, should also determine the best time of year to vacation in the biome, and what kinds of clothes to bring

Geographer - map and area expert, will show landmarks, major cities and places a tourist should visit, or activities related to that area (climbing, scuba..etc)

Discuss with your team which
role each of you will assume. Remember that you are all responsible for learning
about the biome you are presenting, but your role reflects an area of particular
focus for you as your research

Each team member should
choose a website from the resource list and find their biome, they should record
facts and information about the biome that would be useful in the presentation.

This factsheet will be turned in to show that you did your share of the
group work. Please do not print out whole webpages, a list of facts on notebook
paper is acceptable.

Remember your role. You
can write down anything useful you think the team will need, but your focus
should be on the role you were assigned (geographer, meteorologist, Zoologist,
Botanist)

Some questions to consider:

What kinds of activities
could people do in this location?
What kinds of plants and animals live there?
What kind of clothes should they bring?
What's the weather like?
What is the best time of year to to travel there?
What part of the world will they be travelling to?
Are there any dangerous elements to traveling there?

Presentations

Use any of the following formats, check with your instructor for additional instructions or information:

1. A flyer that you can hand out to the class (ask your teacher to make copies). Microsoft Office has a publisher program to help make pamphlets.

2. A web page (poster). http://poster.4teachers.org/ is an online service that makes it easy to make web posters and publish them online. Teachers will need to sign up for this service or use a comparable service.

3. Make a real poster on posterboard. Make a self standing project board that has pictures and information about your biome.

4. Make a museumbox on the web to present to classmates in a web format.

5. Make a presentation using powerpoint and present to the class on a digital project.

*Also you are free to use search engines, such as google, to locate information

Evaluation Rubric (checklist)

1. Plants (botanist) - plants are illustrated in the presentation with detail and include at least one picture of a plant and information related to that plant's value to the area, harmful or dangerous plants can also be used.
__4 pts __3pts ___2pts ___1pt ___0 pt

2. Animals (zoologist) - animals are discussed in the presenation with regard to the type of animals you would see on a vacation to the biome. At least one picture of an animal is included, with details of the animals habitat and lifestyle.
__4 pts __3pts ___2pts ___1pt ___0 pt

3. Weather (meterology) - the biome's weather patterns are discussed, seasonal changes are mentioned and audience have an idea of what kinds of clothes to bring to this vacation spot. __4 pts __3pts ___2pts ___1pt ___0 pt

4. Geographer - a map is included in the presentation with a list of "sites to see" while at the biome or location. Either many sites are briefly mentioned or one site is showcased in great detail. __4 pts __3pts ___2pts ___1pt ___0 pt

5. Overall Presentation - each member spoke and contributed to the presentation, presentation had a smooth flow and organization is evident; document (ppt, .doc, webpage) is creative and well organized.
__4 pts __3pts ___2pts ___1pt ___0 pt